


smiling flower

by doitsushine92



Series: Dreamies A/B/O [19]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 2000 Liners, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 06:37:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18338180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doitsushine92/pseuds/doitsushine92
Summary: Time flies when they’re together. Most of the time, Renjun will look up and realize that it’s been hours since they started talking or the movie’s ending credits are long finished or the sun has set over the horizon or is starting to rise and think, “Huh.”





	smiling flower

Jeno thrums with excitement from his seat next to Renjun, his legs bouncing up and down. Renjun spares him an amused glance before he goes back to his conversation with Donghyuck; he types back a response to his boyfriend and then shoves his phone into his pocket. Renjun places a placating hand on Jeno’s thigh and says, “Chill, we’ll be there in a second.”

“Sorry,” Jeno smiles sheepishly. His legs stop bouncing. “I’m just excited.”

“Are you excited because of us or the cats?” Renjun asks, his voice tilting knowingly.

Jeno smiles shyly and picks at his jeans, his eyelashes fluttering softly as he diverts his gaze to his feet. Renjun rolls his eyes fondly and waits for the bus to reach their stop, reaching for Jeno’s hand to lock their fingers together.

Jaemin and Donghyuck are there already when they arrive, holding hands outside of the café and cooing at the cats on the display window. To no one’s surprise, Jeno barrels past them and into the shop to greet the cats, leaving Renjun to third wheel their boyfriends and the heart eyes they keep making at each other. Renjun would feel more insulted if Donghyuck didn’t turn said eyes to him and Jaemin didn’t plant a kiss on his cheek. As it is, Renjun has to fight back a blush at their combined stares, so open in their emotions.

“How was your week?” Jaemin asks him, his voice deeper than the last time Renjun heard it, if that’s even possible.

Renjun shrugs, because there really isn’t much to tell. “Long. Tired.”

Jaemin and Donghyuck nod in understanding – the new semester has barely started but they’re all already swamped with homework, essays and projects. Donghyuck keeps whining in their group chat about some assignment he has due in two weeks regarding medieval scholars or something like that – he’s never very clear on the things he has to do for Uni -, and Jeno hasn’t seen the light of day on the weekends with all the programming he has to do for his classes.

Inside the store, Jeno is already sat at one of the tables and has the fattest cat on the store on his lap. He’s also sneezing up a storm and his nose is runny as fuck, but they already knew this would happen. Renjun didn’t come here armed with allergy pills for nothing, after all.

Today is their first date all together in months; what with university and their jobs, plus group projects and other life responsibilities, there hasn’t been a chance to make the time for each other, and it started to show: Renjun and Jaemin were antsier than ever after so long without seeing their boyfriends and Jeno had taken up the habit of biting his nails. Donghyuck wasn’t unaffected per se, but he handled it better than the others. The only evidence of his longing was the disgusting amount of time he spent on Snapchat nowadays and his wistful sighs during his study sessions with Chaewon. And it wasn’t even the physical things they missed – they could live without kissing or things like that, but not being able to talk in person, to see their smiles or hear their laughter unfiltered by the phones… that was a lot harder. Or at least so Renjun thought.

But now that they’re within reach, Renjun can feel himself coiling tight at the sheer need to _touch_ them. It happened when he and Jeno met up at the bus station; the second Jeno stood in front of him, smiling softly and smelling like aftershave cream, Renjun had to do some serious breathing exercises to stop himself from dragging him to a dark corner and kissing him until his lips were raw. Right now, Renjun thinks Donghyuck’s neck looks more inviting than ever, as does Jaemin’s entire face.

It’s a bit of a hassle to choose the seating arrangements. They all missed each other and would probably pile up on the same seat if it were possible, but they’re in a public space and that kind of behaviour is generally frowned upon. Another reason why Renjun kept his hands to himself while they were at the bus. Renjun is itching to be alone with them but they agreed a date – a real date – was long overdue.

It doesn’t deter Renjun from sitting on Donghyuck’s lap, though. It’s only halfway on top of him, anyway, half his butt grazing the seat cushions and the place is crowded enough to assume no one will pay any attention to them. Donghyuck doesn’t say a word about Renjun’s chosen seat and simply curls an arm around his waist to help keep him steady. A cat climbs atop Renjun’s legs and falls asleep within seconds – Renjun swears he dies a little inside.

A waiter takes their orders, raising an eyebrow at Jaemin’s coffee, but otherwise doesn’t say anything besides offering their cake of the day. Jaemin scratches behind a cat’s ears and his entire attention is on it, not on his boyfriends, which really isn’t fair, in Renjun’s opinion. “So what have you guys been up to, lately?” Donghyuck asks conversationally, also scratching behind someone’s ears – Jeno’s, an arm thrown over the back of his chair. Renjun swears to God he hears Jeno purr.

“I was actually with Mark the other day.”

All heads snap to Jaemin. Renjun can’t help it when he throws his head back in shock, his eyes wide. If there was anything he thought he’d never hear it would be to hear Jaemin say he hung out with Mark one on one.

“We ran into each other at the grocery store,” Jaemin continues. He’s either oblivious to their stares or he’s simply chosen to ignore them. “We went down to a fast food joint and shared a milkshake.”

“You’re shitting me,” Donghyuck deadpans, and there’s clear disbelief in his voice.

Jaemin finally acknowledges them. He lifts his gaze to Donghyuck and shakes his head, a sheepish smile on his lips. “I’m not. You can ask him, if you want.”

Donghyuck’s face must be a poem because Jaemin has to stifle a laugh. Renjun suspects he looks just as surprised. “And, how did that go?” Renjun asks.

Jaemin shrugs, growing uncomfortable under their combined stares. Renjun tears his eyes away and instead focuses on the cat napping on his lap. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Jeno doing the same. Donghyuck might have looked away as well, because the tension seeps out of Jaemin’s shoulder and he doesn’t smell so sour anymore. “It was fine, I guess. Awkward as fuck. But we talked and I think you could say we’re cool now.”

“You weren’t before?” Jeno asks, as if he doesn’t know the answer already. Jaemin mocks him and Jeno smiles so hard his eyes disappear.

They fill the rest of the date with mindless banter. Renjun wrestles Jaemin for the brownie at the bottom of the sundae they share, and after Jeno sneezes six times in a row Donghyuck announces it’s time to go. Jaemin insists on paying, holds the bill over his head and far from their reach when Renjun insists they split the tab, but Donghyuck just rolls his eyes and drags Jeno outside to shove allergy pills into his mouth. Renjun goes along with them after painstakingly removing the cat from his legs.

Jaemin joins them in the sidewalk a couple of minutes later. Jeno seems to have taken his medicine because Donghyuck is brushing his hair back and congratulating him - Jeno hates taking pills with a passion. “Jisung texted me,” Jaemin announces. “He and the rest of the guys are at Mark’s; he says we should join them.”

Renjun waits for the others to voice their opinions. He’s on board with hanging out with their friends – he won’t admit it out loud, but he’s missed Chenle like he’s a limb – but he’s aware that this is supposed to be a date, their first date in months, and they might want to stick to just the four of them for the rest of the day.

“We could go,” Donghyuck suggests, shrugging. “Not right now, but later.”

Jeno nods his agreement. “Yeah, I miss Jisung; it’d be nice to see him.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Jeno wrinkles his nose and says, “Don’t tell him I said that, he’ll get annoying.”

“Your secret is safe with us, buddy,” Renjun pats his back. “Anyway, yeah, I agree as well. We can go tonight.”

“Okay,” Jaemin nods, shooting Jisung a text and pocketing his phone again. “What do you guys want to do now?”

They all stare at each other. None of them has any requests, no demands. “I just wanna hang out,” Jeno shrugs. “We could go to the park? Or the plaza or something.”

“Or we could go back to Jaem’s,” Donghyuck suggests. “Watch one of those weird movies Renjun likes so much.”

“They’re not weird!” Renjun defends himself.

“So, my place it is?” Jaemin raises his eyebrows. A murmur of agreement goes around and they turn on their heels to walk in the direction of Jaemin’s apartment complex. He doesn’t live too far from the cat café, only a handful of blocks, and even though it’s sunny out, it’s windy and the clouds pass over the sun enough times to create a faux shade.

Donghyuck goes ahead of them, dragging Renjun by the hand. Jeno and Jaemin follow at a slower pace, their pinkies intertwined. Renjun would be more annoyed at having to skip to keep up with Donghyuck if his heart weren’t so giddy about holding his hand. Donghyuck has warm hands, after all.

Jaemin’s apartment is cleaner than it used to be. Apparently, his mother came by one day and blew a fuse at the state Jaemin was living in and threatened to force him back home if she ever visited again and he still has his place like it’s a pigsty. Jaemin would have scoffed, being an adult and all, if he didn’t know how serious she was. So, Jaemin now has to swipe the floor every day and do the dishes every night in fear his mother will show up unannounced and drag him back to their house.

“It’s good to know we won’t be getting run over by rats in here,” Renjun jokes. Jaemin glares at him and sticks his tongue out, to which Renjun retaliates in grace. Jeno throws himself to the couch and settles in with a contented smile, offering Renjun some space when the older boy raises his eyebrows and stares pointedly at him. “Thanks, sunshine.”

Jeno beams at the pet name and Renjun cannot stop himself from diving in to steal a kiss. Donghyuck calls them gross from the kitchen, but Renjun doesn’t care. He can’t pull away from Jeno’s lips, not even if he wanted to. Jeno makes a pleased sound and drags Renjun down to him so they’re lying chest to chest on the couch. Jeno smells so nice, Renjun thinks. Like spices and home.

“Why do you two always get cosy without us?” Jaemin says from somewhere behind them. Renjun pulls apart just long enough to tell him he can kiss Donghyuck if he wants, then goes right back to Jeno. Renjun swear he doesn’t purr when Jeno tangles fingers in Renjun’s hair and yanks softly. He feels his fingertips trail softly from his hair to his neck, to his back and finally settling on his waist. Renjun only parts from him with the intention of catching his breath, but two things capture his attention: one, there is Donghyuck, sitting on the couch adjacent to the ones they are – that ugly as fuck orange couch, the one Renjun has threatened to throw out the window more times than he can count –, his gaze soft as he looks at them, his head resting on his hand. Two, Jeno looks like an angel beneath him, his black hair spread around him like a halo and a beautiful smile on his lips.

Renjun opens his mouth. He want to say a lot of things – how much he loves them, how much he’s missed them – but the words die on his throat. And it didn’t feel right without Jaemin there, either. In the end, he settles for reaching out to Donghyuck; their fingers brush and an electric jolt travels up Renjun’s arm and leaves a pleasant buzz around his neck. Jeno’s hand is still on Renjun’s waist and he draws circles over the clothed skin, a silent message. They got him – they know.

Jaemin returns from his bedroom with a box full of his comic books and Donghyuck lights up and asks, “You got Sandman in there?”

Jaemin shoots him an affronted look. “Why the fuck would you assume I don’t?” Jaemin doesn’t comment on their strange positions and simply settles down with Donghyuck, offering the box to him. Donghyuck takes his hand back with a twinkle in his eyes and cuddles under Jaemin’s arm, his hair tickling Jaemin’s chin. Renjun gets off Jeno and lets him tangle their legs together.

Renjun isn’t sure how long they stay silent. Jeno wasn’t feeling up for comics, but he found one of his old books in the box and he’s been curled up on his side of the couch ever seen, burrowed into a hoodie he took from the arm of a chair within distance and his face pinched in concentration, while Jaemin and Donghyuck are spread over each other on the couch, both holding up different comic books and none speaking a word. Renjun was never one for comic books in particular, but he also finds a torn book at the bottom of the piles and he settles feet to feet with Jeno, though he keeps slipping if he doesn’t pay attention and his toes brush Jeno’s ankles. Renjun leaves them there, eventually.

The sun is setting in the horizon the next time Renjun looks up. His neck protests and something in his spine cracks and it makes Renjun wince. He also notices that his phone, which he’d left with the screen facing up, is buzzing and lighting up uncontrollably with messages. Renjun doesn’t need to check to know it’s from their group chat.

“Guys,” Renjun jostles Jeno with his foot. Jeno makes a confused sound and looks up from his book, only to grimace in pain, probably from being in one very awkward position for too long. Jaemin doesn’t even blink, but Donghyuck also turns to look at him. “We said we’d meet with the others.”

There’s a brief commotion as everyone remembers, but they set into motion. Jeno makes a show of sliding his book into his backpack and zips it up with a flourish and a pointed stare at Jaemin, to which Jaemin only smiles amusedly. Their shoes are all in different places and Jaemin has to put away the box, but within minutes they’re on their way.

Mark’s apartment isn’t too far from Jaemin’s apartment complex, but they still debate taking the bus. Jeno whines he doesn’t want to walk that far and Donghyuck is right behind him, and Jaemin might be okay with walking, but he also likes to go with what those two want all the time. And Renjun can’t be expected to put his foot down when it’s them. The bus takes them right across the street from Mark’s apartment complex but Jeno still nearly gets ran over by a Vespa when he tries crossing the street without looking. “I swear you’re like a child,” Renjun grumbles under his breath, but Donghyuck is the one to take Jeno’s hand and walk him across the street.

Upon walking across the threshold, Renjun gets hit in the face with a Nerf bullet. He blinks, too surprised to process how much it fucking hurts to get hit with one of those, and he surveys the scene in front of him: Yukhei, Chenle and Jisung are spread around the living room, all holding Nerf guns, while Mark sits at a far corner with a notebook in his lap and a pencil in his mouth, too concentrated in whatever he’s doing to care much for what the others do.

Chenle, clearly the one to have hit Renjun, smiles sheepishly and drops the gun. Renjun grants him an unimpressed raise of his eyebrow and continues to walk inside the apartment. “Sorry, Ge,” Chenle apologizes. Renjun waves it away and plops on the couch, pulling Chenle down with him. “It took you a while to get here,” he continues. Renjun notices how Chenle is cuddled under his arm and doesn’t mention anything, too shy to confess he’s missed him as much as Chenle has missed him. But Chenle knows.

“We got distracted,” Renjun answers. Chenle wiggles his eyebrows and Renjun punches him in the arm, but lighter than he normally would. “It wasn’t like that, you child,” Renjun chides him. “Either way, we’re here now.”

Chenle beams at him. Renjun isn’t the type to wear his heart on his sleeve – his boyfriends do it enough to fill his quota - and he’s never been one to openly show his feelings, not exactly; he’s not good with words, but he’s good with actions. Renjun frees himself from Chenle’s hold for a second; just enough to go through his backpack and find the notebook he was looking for. He flips the pages quickly and tears out the one with Chenle’s drawing on it, handing it over to the boy. Chenle takes it as if it was a diamond or something equally precious and stares at it for an eternity.

It’s nothing over the top. It’s just a carbon sketch, something Renjun worked on instead of listening to their Anatomy professor; but he’d drawn it after seeing Chenle’s Instagram story of that day, he and Jisung in their usual spot at high school, laughing at whatever ridiculous thing Jisung had said or Chenle had done, and Renjun hadn’t been able to shake off the image of Chenle’s wide, unrestrained smile until he’d put it in paper. It had hit him, in that second, that he’d been so caught up with his perspective of things, he hadn’t stopped to think about the youngest members of their little group. Sure, graduation sucked balls for them in the sense they didn’t get to see each other every day, and sure, he missed high school even if he didn’t want to admit it, but Chenle and Jisung still went there, still sat in the same spot – just the two of them. Jisung had a basketball game last Friday, one Jeno attended with a glittery sign he’d coerced Renjun into decorating with him instead of studying as they said they would, and Chenle had joined the debate team on his last year as an excuse to get close to the pretty girl he’s crushing on – Jisung’s words, not Renjun’s.

“When’s your first meet?” Renjun asks, before Chenle can open his mouth. He doesn’t really want to hear a thank you or any praises; he’s happy to know Chenle liked it. “I want to go.”

“I think you have a class that afternoon,” Chenle frowns.

Renjun shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter, I want to be there.” Chenle’s face spasms. It’s involuntary, obviously, but Chenle has always been easy to read like a book and his surprise overtakes his features. “Really?”

Renjun nods and Chenle gives him the details excitedly. Renjun feels a pang as he wonders if he’s been that terrible at keeping up with his friends that Chenle is so surprised to hear Renjun will come, but he has to push the thought away because he’s not here to get sappy. He’s here to hang out with his friends, most of whom he hasn’t seen in weeks.

Around the apartment, things are just as he’d expected. Donghyuck is pestering Mark in the kitchen, Jeno and Yukhei sitting on the counter and sharing something to eat as they stare in adoration at their boyfriends – Renjun thinks it’s fitting for the two of them to get along the way they do, since they are, essentially, overgrown puppies with too much love in their bones. Jaemin and Jisung are nowhere to be seen, but Renjun can hear them, the loud bark of Jaemin’s laugh and Jisung’s gasping peals of glee.

“No,” Mark can be heard saying with finality. Or, what would be finality, if he weren’t dealing with the human hurricane that is Lee Donghyuck. Donghyuck only mocks him and continues to insist to whatever he is asking, and just for a second Renjun thinks he’s lost; surely, Mark must have developed the immunity to Donghyuck’s pleas. But Renjun can see his will crumble slowly – truly fascinating to watch – and he’s soon hanging his head low and sighing. “Fine, we can do it next week.”

Donghyuck cheers and throws his arms around Mark, shakes him from one side to another with excessive force and then leaves him alone before Mark can change his mind. When he’s close enough to Renjun, he can’t help but ask, “What was that about?”

“It’s nothing too important,” Donghyuck is bashful all of a sudden. “Don’t worry about it.”

Renjun stares at him for a long second, but decides he won’t prod if Donghyuck doesn’t want to talk about it. “Alright,” he concedes. “I trust it isn’t anything too stupid,” Renjun adds. Donghyuck pokes his tongue out at him and plops down next to Chenle, throwing an arm over Chenle’s shoulders. Chenle is now trapped between the two of them and Renjun can smell his happiness, the sweet omega scent flaring and enhancing as he beams at the two of them.

Mark wanders out of the kitchen, a can of Diet Coke in hand and says to Renjun, “Your demise is coming.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Renjun asks at the same time Donghyuck sputters, “Hey!”

“I warned you,” Mark continues. “Don’t say I didn’t.”

Donghyuck throws a small pillow at him and scowls but all Mark does is giggle like a child and dance away from danger’s reach. There’s a movie playing on the TV long forgotten and Renjun tunes in momentarily; it’s some sort of thriller, with some guy who murders his classmates, although the story seems to be told from his mother’s point of view. It’s interesting enough to distract Renjun from everything else going on around him for almost twenty minutes.

Yukhei swings by, sometime during those twenty minutes, and sits on Renjun’s other side. He provides minimal commentary for the movie and Renjun is happy to have Yukhei’s warm arm pressed to his. It’s very comforting, to have the older boy around. He’s always felt like a wall, or a barrier, between them and the rest of the world. Safe, is probably the word Renjun would use to describe Yukhei. Being with him feels safe.

Then, Renjun’s coat is thrown at him and he’s brought back to Earth. “We’re getting dinner, come on,” Jaemin beckons him. Chenle had (somehow) fallen asleep on the spot and Renjun didn’t have the heart to wake him, but Donghyuck gets up anyway and it jostles Chenle awake.

“Where are we going?” Chenle asks. Or, at least that’s what Renjun thinks he asks. His speech is slurred and drowsy as he blinks owlishly and looks around him in a daze. Chenle always had a hard time waking up, no matter how long he was out for. Yukhei coos at him, “Cute.” Renjun smiles at Chenle’s half-assed scowl.

“Dinner,” Renjun informs him. “Come on, let’s grab your coat.”

They walk for two blocks before they reach a fast food truck. There’s a light-up sign on the top but most of the light bulbs are dead and the other few are blinking on and off, the counter big enough to hold three stools other than the check-out space and a couple of plastic tables litter the space around the truck. The vehicle itself doesn’t seem to have moved from the spot in years, the tires rusty and dusty, but the rest of it looks taken care of. There’s a man behind the counter, his back turned to them as he flips burgers and only two other people are eating there.

“It might not look like much,” Mark says as they approach the food truck, “But I swear these are some of the best burgers I’ve eaten.”

Renjun isn’t so sure about that, but he’s hungry and doesn’t actually feel like walking anymore. Yukhei and Jaemin know their orders – they’ve never eaten here before, but they all order the same things at restaurants. While they approach the counter, the others drag the two tables together and rearrange the chairs to fit everyone.

“How’s organic chemistry going for you, kids?” Donghyuck asks Chenle and Jisung.

Jisung gives a long-suffering groan. “It’s kicking my ass,” he says truthfully. “But it’s honestly the only class that isn’t working out for me.”

“Chemistry's fine, I guess,” Chenle says, but then he sags and adds, “It kinda sucks, to be honest.”

“Why?” Renjun asks. It always seemed to him like Chemistry was easy during his last year.

“They changed professors again,” Chenle tells them and his scowl speaks volume. “The new one is an ass.”

Jisung snorts. “That’s an understatement,” he says. “The guy won’t slow down for a second to let us write what he’s saying and he’s got something against the foreign kids.”

“He failed me last week over grammar errors in the theoretical questions,” Chenle confess. He sounds awfully ashamed and it only makes Renjun want to wrap him up in a hug. He hates hearing his friends sound like that.

“That’s bullshit,” Jeno frowns. Renjun stays quiet, even if he wants to ask what car the guy drives, just out of curiosity. “He can’t do that.”

“The ladies at administration said they’ll see what they can do but I don’t think they’ll let him go this year.”

Mark scowls. “Can’t your parents complain or something?” He knows that, technically, they can. It’s just a matter of whether administration cares enough or not to do something about it.

Chenle shrugs. “It’s whatever, I already got a tutor and Jisung and I are gonna study together starting next week so,” he shrugs again.

“I know you joined the Debate team,” Donghyuck smiles. He’s trying to lift the mood, after a few seconds of tense silence, and it works, because Chenle grins and says, “Yeah, Daehwi and I are the only seniors this year that are also newbies but it's been fun.”

“How’s basket, Jisung?” Mark asks the younger boy. A smile spreads across his face as well, and Jisung tells them all about a match he has next week that he’s excited about, how there will be scouts and reps in the audience. He doesn’t say it, but Renjun can tell Jisung is hoping for a scholarship, like Yukhei.

The hamburgers aren’t all that bad, Renjun must admit. They’re greasy enough to satisfy their teenage appetite, but not so much he feels sick. They eat in relative silence, because they always have, but as soon as the food is gone the conversation picks up. Donghyuck moves to sit next to Chenle and gives him advice for the debate meets, and Jeno takes Donghyuck’s previous spot by Jisung and the two, along with Yukhei, talk about Yukhei’s scholarship and his new basketball team. Renjun gets distracted with his phone for a second and when he looks up Mark and Jaemin are talking to each other – Renjun joins in after Jaemin complains about one of his classes and the three engage in a comparison between their grades and whatever else they can think of.

Time flies when they’re together. Most of the time, Renjun will look up and realize that it’s been hours since they started talking or the movie’s ending credits are long finished or the sun has set over the horizon or is starting to rise and think, “Huh.” Tonight, when Renjun feels his phone vibrate and he checks the screen, he sees it’s been two hours and they still haven’t moved from the plastic chairs. It’s a wonder the owner of the food truck hasn’t kicked them out yet.

One by one, they all seem to notice. They look like they’re waking up from a long, deep dream, unaware of where they are or how long they’ve been there. Donghyuck picks up the trash and throws it away on the garbage can behind the truck while the others pool their money to pay for the meals, and then they’re on the streets again.

It’s late, so Chenle and Jisung say their goodbyes first since they have early classes in the morning and their mothers will be furious if they stay out any longer. Yukhei insists on walking them at least to the metro station, because he doesn’t want the two of them wandering around the dark streets at this time of night all by themselves, and Chenle caves first. Jisung rolls his eyes but agrees too, and the three take their turn of the corner when it’s time. Renjun watches them disappear down the street, Yukhei’s tall and broad form a stark contrast to Jisung’s skinny body and Chenle’s short stature. Renjun can hear Yukhei’s deep voice say something that causes the other two to laugh and Renjun doesn’t need to actually see Yukhei to know he’s got a satisfied smile. Yukhei has always found pleasure in other people’s delight.

Mark offers them to stay at his place for tonight when they reach his apartment complex, but they decline – Donghyuck has to get home to finish a PowerPoint presentation, Jeno has an essay due in a week he hasn’t started yet and both Renjun and Jaemin have homework. Mark bids his goodbye on the front door, ruffling Donghyuck’s hair and fist-bumping Jeno and Renjun. Jaemin merely waves goodbye and Mark smiles brightly at him and waves as well, which makes Jaemin blush furiously and look away.

After Mark is out of earshot, Donghyuck sidles up to Jaemin and coos, “You like him, don’t you?” Jaemin glares at him and Donghyuck rolls his eyes, “Not like that, you loser.” Jaemin only stares straight ahead and doesn’t answer. Donghyuck meets Renjun’s eyes and smirks knowingly; Renjun mirrors the action, while Jeno whistles and remains oblivious. Sometimes, Renjun can’t understand how he can have so much love in his bones for just one boy.

“Should we split up here?” Jeno suggests as they reach the bus station.

The four look at each other and decide otherwise. The closest home is Jaemin’s, nearly ten blocks away from where they are. Donghyuck and Jeno have to be pulled away from every stray cat or dog they find and Jaemin gets distracted every five seconds or so by the different stores they pass, but it’s nice. Renjun likes this, just walking around the city with them, whether they’re silent or talking. It doesn’t matter to him.

Jaemin’s building looms over them after fifteen minutes. Jaemin pulls them inside the shelter of the lobby and uses the deserted space to kiss the life out of each of them. Renjun feels some sort of desperation in the kiss, in the way Jaemin grabs him and holds him flush against his body and doesn’t let him go until they’re in desperate need of air. Renjun pants against his lips and raises a questioning eyebrow, asks, “What was that for?”

“Nothing,” Jaemin smiles. “Just missed you guys.”

Jeno goes next, a surprised squeak tumbling out of his lips before Jaemin is attempting to steal the breath out of his lungs. Renjun leans into Donghyuck and watches them, feeling something blooming in his chest at the sight, at the sensation of Donghyuck’s warm body pressed to his, at the tingling of his lips. Renjun feels so in love, it’s disconcerting. He can’t remember the last time he felt so much.

When Donghyuck goes willingly into Jaemin’s arms, Jeno makes his way to Renjun. Jeno has his hair standing every which way and his mouth looks just as swollen as Renjun’s feels, and Renjun thinks for two seconds before pulling him down by the collar of the shirt. He kisses Jeno, not how Jaemin kissed them, which was all teeth and tongue and the quiet desperation of someone who’s been craving touch, but with the tenderness and delicacy that Renjun usually reserves for Jeno. Renjun likes to carve his name and scent into his boyfriends, but he also enjoys kissing them like this; although, he must admit, he typically keeps such intimacy for Jeno. There’s no particular reason, it’s just because.

They pull apart in time for Jaemin to say goodbye. He leaves one last, lingering kiss on Donghyuck’s jaw and makes sure to look each of them in the eye as he says his biddings, a quiet “I love you” in his eyes and expression before he steps into the elevator.

Renjun, Jeno and Donghyuck still live in their childhood homes, which are in the same neighbourhood. They take a bus; sit on the same row even if it’s made to hold two people instead of three, with Renjun squished in the middle. Donghyuck spends the whole ride humming a song under his breath and playing with Renjun’s fingers as he stares out the window. Renjun is pretty sure the song is from one of the Twilight movies. Jeno dozes in and out of consciousness, knowing the two will keep him safe.

They get off the bus as close as they can to Jeno’s home, although that is still two blocks away. They walk the remainder of the way, holding hands in the dark. Jeno’s porch has a light still on, probably because he told his mom he’d be crashing with her tonight instead of going to Johnny’s. Under the yellow glow of the bulb, Jeno takes the two of them by the wrists and drags them close. He doesn’t kiss them right away; first, he simply enjoys the nearness, breathing them in, nosing between them so he’s the one trapped in their arms. Jeno only pulls back so he can kiss each of them, on the lips and then on the cheeks, murmuring his goodbye before he retreats into his home.

Donghyuck wraps an arm around Renjun’s waist while they walk to Donghyuck’s home. There’s nothing to talk about at the moment, nothing important enough to break the peace of the night. Renjun listens to the cicadas and the crickets, the dog barking in the distance and the cat that crosses their path with a meow before it moves on. He feels inexplicably happy.

“Goodnight,” Donghyuck says quietly. Renjun reciprocates, waiting for Donghyuck to kiss him. But the beta only stares at him for a minute before he says, “You wanna know what I asked Mark?”

Renjun tilts his head to the side, listening. Donghyuck shuffles his feet, leans in and whispers in his ear, like a secret. Renjun can’t help but jerk back in surprise and he stares at Donghyuck with widened eyes and absolute surprise. “Are you sure about that?”

Donghyuck shrugs one shoulder. “I know Jaemin. I know Mark. And I know Jeno and you and Yukhei. So yeah.”

“Huh,” Renjun breathes out. “Interesting.”

Donghyuck offers him a tentative smile and kisses his cheek before he disappears into his house. Renjun walks back home with his mind in shambles, as if in a haze, barely saying hello to his mother as he goes upstairs. His teetering between his doubts and hopes, but they die in his chest quickly. He thinks about today – the familiarity of all of them, how good it felt to spend an entire afternoon doing nothing with them. Unbidden, the image of Mark smiling at Donghyuck comes to mind, then Yukhei’s warmth that seemed to seep into him wherever they touched. And then he thinks of Jisung and Chenle; Jisung, who pretends to be more mature than he is, and Chenle, who’s open in his affections like a child. They would never hurt him, or let anyone else do it.

Things will be all right.

**Author's Note:**

> well, this is it. this is the final fic for the dreamies abo series. it's been a little under a year since i posted the first one, just a short ot4 story that i wrote on a whim and didn't really think i would expand. but then the feedback was overwhelming, and i found myself writing more and more, following my own life experiences as i went through my last months of high school and my beginning of university. i am so glad i wrote this. and i want to thank each and every single one of you that has read my series, from the ones that read the first fic when it came out to the ones who may have found the series with this last one, i am so fucking grateful to all of you, for encouraging me to write more, for being so kind and positive in the comments and for enjoying my writing and being so fucking creative on my cc. it pains me a little to have to depart from this series, but it's time i let go. 
> 
> and in case you were wondering about the end, i know what i meant with everything, but i didn't want to write it because i want you all to come up with your own endings. i've always enjoyed (happy) open endings and i wanted to give one to my fics as well, so here you go: it is up to each of you to decide what happens next, whatever you would like more. i just hope you choose to give my boys a happy ending.


End file.
